Across Time
by Deathberry Supreme
Summary: As Oichi waits in a hospital, she meets a man who will change her life forever. AU, NagmasaxOichi.
1. Chapter 1

Across Time

**Disclaimer- I own nothing but the plot.**

Oichi was in a difficult situation. Someone had planted new flowers in **her** flowerbed.

"Oh dear…" she muttered. "What shall Ichi do now?" Oichi kicked futilely at the flowers in her wheelchair. The flowers were a garish shade of yellow, unlike the lovely; lovely red she'd wanted to plant.

"Oichi?" A nurse, a new one, jogged across the lawn, panting. Her name had started with an M, hadn't it? Was it Motonoki? She had been telling Ichi a story about her family. Apparently they weren't very close, like Ichi's family. Poor girl. She was very kind, and middle aged and wore the classic nurse uniform here, which was a plain blue shirt and loose blue pants. Her brown hair was in a tight bun, and worry lines were etched across her face.

"Oichi! What were you doing?! Everyone is worried and-" She stopped short at the sight of tears in Oichi's eyes. "What happened here, dear?"

Oichi hung her head. "Ichi is sorry. Ichi didn't mean to make anyone worry, she just wanted to plant flowers! But now, Ichi's flowerbed has been taken, and Ichi doesn't know what to do…"

The nurse's face softened, and she patted Oichi on the back. All the Nurses knew Oichi; she'd been here for several years. The girl's mental state was fragile they all knew that. Being a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her elder brother and his wife, Oda Nobunga and Nouhime, she'd broken down and had been placed into the mental ward. The young woman's mental state before her brother's violence had been rather fragile as well; it'd just been how she was born. The young woman, now twenty, had been recuperating well, but it had been as if something was obstructing her progress…

"Don't worry, Oichi. We can find you a new flowerbed, and I promise, you can plant all the flowers you want."

"Really? You promise?" Oichi looked up into the woman's eyes. They were a soft brown, she noticed. Very, very pretty, like the soil she'd plant her flowers in.

"Pinky promise, Oichi." The woman extended her pinky towards Oichi. It was a sort of tradition between the two, as it had developed over the years she'd been here.

"Oichi, can I ask you a favor?" The woman peered at Oichi.

"I-Ichi supposes so. What is it Motonoki?" The woman smiled brightly, temporarily erasing all signs of worry from her face.

"We have a new part-time worker here, do you want to say hello? His name is Azai Nagamasa. He's very kind. I'm sure you'll like him."

"O-Okay. U-um, will you wheel Ichi over?" As the woman wheeled Oichi over to the main building, she spotted the outline of a man, wearing the same uniform as Motonoki. Oichi was suddenly struck with a bout of nervousness. What would he be like? Would he like her? Oh, she knew this was a mistake; she shouldn't have let Motonoki let them meet…

"Is this her?" The man's voice was deep and carried a gruff undertone; Oichi found herself entranced by it. She wanted to look up and see the strange man's face but she felt as though she couldn't…

"Yes it is." Motonoki bent down to whisper is Oichi's ear. "Now Ichi, remember what I said about eye contact? I want you to look up at Mr. Nagamasa, okay?"

As if the woman's voice had broken a spell on Oichi, she looked up, and found herself captured in sharp brown eyes. The man was obviously Japanese, like her, with dark brown hair and eyes. He had pale skin and thin lips, and his hair was held back in a long, low ponytail, with two thick strips hanging down to frame his face, along with short bangs.

Almost unanimously, small blushes stained each other's cheeks, painting their faces a soft pink.

For an odd reason, Oichi found herself drawn to this man, with his pale, thin lips, and pretty, soil brown hair.

"H-hello! I'm Oichi. It's a pleasure to meet you…" Oichi nervously shifted in her wheelchair, waiting for the man's response. After what seemed like forever, the man spoke.

"Nagamasa. My name is Azai Nagamasa."

**I really hope you guys liked this…. I think it turned out okay! I mainly ship yaoi for Sengoku Basara, but I find this pairing very cute. Please tell me if you spot any errors. I'd had this in my head for a while, but I haven't had the chance to update it. I JUST COULDN'T HELP IT! **

**Anyways, please review, It'd really make my day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I've decided to try something new. I'm going to ask you guys to leave 'words' in your reviews, and I'll write a short little prompt about them. I might go back to writhing full chapters, but this seemed like something fun to do! (This fic is my guinea pig, lolz.) So please help me out with this, and tell me if you like it, I'd really appreciate it!**

**Jealousy/Slight Possessiveness**

Azai Nagamasa was in a complete rage. After seeing that brat, Sanada Yukimura, flirt with his Oichi, he was about ready to kill someone. Godamnit!

He punched a wall, his fist trembling. He was the one who'd taken care of her, who'd planted flowers with her, who'd done every single fucking thing he could, and that kid goes off and attempts to make a pass at her-

"M-Mr. Nagamasa?" Azai turned to see Oichi, her eyes wide and frightened, something clutched in her closed fist.

"What is it?" The words come out sharper than he intended, and his heart jolts as she flinches back.

"I-Ichi got you something… you don't have to accept it, but…" her voice trails off as she unfolds her fist, revealing a small bouquet of red and white colored amaryllis blossoms.

"Ichi, planted these for you, t-they reminded her of you… do you like them?" Oichi glanced up to meet Azai's eyes.

His jealousy completely abated, Azai knelt down to grasp a single blossom from her palm. Oichi looked startled.

"Why only one, Mr. Nagamasa?"

"If these flowers remind me of you, then I want you to keep them, so you'll remember me forever, okay?"

**Sun**

People say Oichi is like a shadow, dark and sad, unable to exist without something to hold on to.

However, Nagamasa thinks that Oichi is a ray of light, brightening his dull existence.

**Accidental**

It was a supposedly an accident, but when Oichi fell out of her wheelchair and on top of Nagamasa, he could have sworn, for a split second, he saw Keiji's outstretched hand and a wink.

**Fixture**

Nagamasa's heart nearly stops when he hears that there's been an accident at the hospital-

Down in the Kyoto area. He breathes out a sigh of relief, and turns back to his book, and notices his hands are shaking.

Without his realizing it, Oichi has become a constant in Nagamasa's life, something he will constantly rely on existing.

It scares him to know that he can no longer imagine life without her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summer**

In the sweltering heat of summer, Nagamasa decides he hates walking down to the hospital. Why doesn't he just buy a car? Oh, right. He's broke.

But he walks anyways, just to see her.

Although he'll never admit it.

**Food**

One day, Nagamasa decides to ask Oichi what her favorite food is.

"Favorite food? Ichi likes Dansuke Watermelon."

Nagamasa wanders off, wondering where the hell he can get a cheap Dansuke watermelon, AND deliver it anonymously.

**Music**

Nagamasa walks into Oichi's room, and sees something quite unexpected.

Oichi's long, slender fingers are clutching at the neck of a shamisen, while her other hand is plucking at the strings, producing a low, mournful sound.

There are tears rolling down her face, and her frame is shaking with silent sobs.

Without a word, Nagamasa slips out of the room as quietly as he came in.

**Comb**

Oichi has frequent panic attacks.

So when he finds her clawing at the air, screaming at invisible demons to: "_Get away! No! Please stop it! Stop it Stop it Stop IT! I don't want to, NO!"_ her words slowly fade into choked sobs, and tears run down her cheeks. Her chest is heaving, and she crawling on the ground, having fallen out of her wheelchair, which stands to the side like a vague, unimportant prop in a movie. She reaches a hand out towards Nagamasa's direction, flailing blindly-

Who pulls her into his arms, whispering varying comforts into her awaiting ear. He combs his finger through her hair, again and again, till she simply shakes in his arms, like a child after waking up from a long, dreadful nightmare.

He continues his ministrations, and she dozes off, finding comfort in his arms.

This becomes a regular occurrence, but they never speak of it. Oichi is scared of rejection and disgust at her weakness, and Nagamasa has his pride.

Nevertheless, this ritual always continues.

**Darker**

Nagamasa is scared of the dark.

He doesn't know why, or when it started. However, he does remember his mother holding him beneath the blankets, telling him there was nothing to fear, and that there were no monsters.

He believed her, but he was still terrified.

One day, while Nagamasa is preparing to leave, Oichi asks a rather peculiar question.

"Are you afraid of the dark, Mr. Nagamasa?"

Nagamasa gulps, and gives a hasty reply. "Of course not! Who'd be scared of such a foolish thing?"

Oichi gives a thin smile, and turns her gaze towards the window. The skies have gotten darker, and several stars have begun to shine.

"Most people aren't scared of the dark, but are afraid of what's in it. They probably envision monsters."

Nagamasa frowns. "Are you scared of monsters, Oichi?"

"Ichi is only scared of the human ones. The human ones are the worst. You can never tell if they're really a monster until they harm you, and by that time, you're already ensnared in their trap."

**Gate**

That night, Nagamasa has a dream.

He is standing behind a gate that shines a mix of colors, red, black, green, blue, white- and is peering out through the bars.

A woman is walking towards him, her mouth is moving, but Nagamasa can't her a thing. She's dressed in a short pink kimono top and wears iron plates over it, like a medieval armor. He can't see her face.

He shouts- _"I can't hear you!" _But the woman on the other side doesn't seem to register the fact he's spoken and keeps moving towards him, her arms outstretched, mouthing a word-

_"Azai."_

That night, Nagamasa wakes up in a cold sweat. He's trembling, and he glances out the window. It's still dark out, and the moon is full and round, glowing delicate silver.

The most terrifying thing is that he feels as if he knows her.

**That was fun. Many thanks to Rugiku for the words! (Except for food, that was mine.) So I've figured out a system for this story- *applause* whenever there's a full chapter, something really important has happened. The miniature prompt-things are just days in their lives, or events.**

**COMB WAS SO HARD TO WRITE. SERIOUSLY. I kind of like the way it turned out though. I like sad stuff.**

***A Dansuke Watermelon is a Japanese melon that only grows in the northern part of the Japanese district of Hokkadio. It's priced at 6,100 dollars.**


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